Windows 10Browser Crashes

Well-Known Member

I have an Acer X1301 with 256 ssd with Windows 10.
I normally use Firefox but kept crashing
..so. I tried Opera and also randomly (appears to me) crashes

I have tried looking in the event viewer and there are many warnings / errors but I don't really understand what I am looking at. The last error read:-

The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID
I have uploaded a file which shows a list of entries many with source : - DistributedCOM

Fantastic Member

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is always prudent to BACKUP ALL YOUR PERSONAL DATA TO EXTERNAL BACKUP MEDIA PRIOR TO MAKING CHANGES IN THE REGISTRY OR RUNNING SCRIPTS WRITTEN BY OTHERS IN POWER SHELL!".

You can also take additional precautions by enabling and creating a SYSTEM RESTORE POINT just prior to making the changes suggested above. I would also suggest you run the REGEDIT.EXE program if you're familiar with it, and create a Backup Registry File to your W10 desktop as well. If you are not familiar with how to use REGEDIT.EXE, I would stay away from it, as it's a High-Risk program and home users are generally recommended to stay out of there unless your are an expert licensed Technician or Programmer. Both of these programs have a "Rollback" capability, which means you can undo any damage that might have occurred to your computer since the last time you remember it working prior to your problem. The SYSTEM RESTORE POINT is certainly the easiest of all these methods I describe, and is designed for the Home User with basic or no computer knowledge.

The best thing you can do is to make a Full Hard Drive Image backup using Macrium Reflect, Acronis TrueImage, or EASUS. We have tested all 3 of these products with various W10 machines. Personally I like Macrium Reflect the best, and I use it on all my Customer machines.

Prior to using any of these tools, we also suggest that it's prudent to unplug any and all USB devices such as external hard drives, flash drives, printers, webcams, etc. Often times devices such as these can cause issues with W10 registry because of poorly written drivers or outdated drivers. It is easiest to remove these devices, including Digital TVs, and ROKU type devices. Your error also suggests a conflict with NT Media Center Edition, which is no longer supported in W10. To me this indicates you have an old device plugged into your PC that is attempting to run drivers written in the XP-Win7 era, which did have support for Media Center Edition (this came out back in 2002 in the XP days).
If you get no results with none of the above I suggest the following:(1.) Perform a Windows10 in-place Upgrade Repair; you must have a bootable W10 DVD disc or W10 USB stick in order to use this.(2.) Perform a Win10 Reset using FACTORY RECOVERY DISCS or BUILT-IN FACTORY RECOVERY PARTITION software stored in a hidden partition on your hard drive (Drive_D: RECOVERY for example).(3.) Perform a Win10 Reinstallation using FACTORY RECOVERY DISCS or BUILT-IN FACTORY RECOVERY PARTITION software stored in a hidden partition on your hard drive (Drive_D: RECOVERY for example).

It would also be prudent to test your Hard Drive and RAM sticks prior to running any of these 3 options in case you have a hardware failure that is actually causing your problem. We highly recommend you do this prior to an in-place Upgrade repair or Windows Reset/Reinstallation.Here's how to do it:
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Next, you'll need to test your hardware; specifically your Hard Drive, since it's most likely failed.

Laptop drives begin failing as early as 2 yrs. old due to usage and age. After your hard drive you'll need to test your RAM memory. The following sections will help you to do this and tell you where to download the free programs to do so:

(1)Test RAM memory. If you are running Windows7, your computer is 4-5 yrs. old and is very likely to have 1 or more hardware failures to aging/usage. Download free MEMTEST from link in my signature and test each RAM stick individually a minimum of 8 passes. If MEMTEST returns any errors, that RAM stick has failed and must be replaced.

Repeat MEMTEST on each stick until all sticks pass. Then reinsert all sticks into your computer and run MEMTEST again for the 8 passes. Any failures reported by MEMTEST must be corrected by replacing RAM with matched-pairs or all sticks with new until MEMTEST RETURNS NO ERRORS.

Once done, your RAM has passed move onto Step #3.(2) Test your HARD DRIVE. On a PC that's nearly 5 years old as is yours, it is VERY likely your hard drive is failing or has failed and that's why you can't do a SYSTEM RESTORE.

Hard Drives are the #1 failed component in both desktops and laptops across all makes/models.

Download the free SEATOOLS drive diagnostic from the link in my Signature below and run BOTH short and long tests on your drive. If SEATOOLS returns any errors your drive has FAILED and must be REPLACED.

If this is the case, you will need to start Data Recovery to get all your Personal Data copied off that drive onto external media.[Also, if you have a Toshiba, Hitachi, or HGST drive, SEATOOLS won't test those drives so you will have to go to WD's website wd.com and download the appropriate diagnostic, either DLG or HGST to test those 3 types of drives. Additionally if you have a SSD boot drive, you will need to download TRIM via google to test SSD drive].

Testing your Hard Drive and RAM sticks are especially important if your computer did not come with Win10 pre-installed from the factory, but rather you upgraded from an earlier edition of Windows, i.e.: Win7x/8x. The other thing that's really important here, is that when you attempt any of the destructive options #1-#3 above involving refreshing, resetting, or reinstalling Win10 is that YOU HAVE ALL USB AND EXTERNAL DEVICES AND ANY INTERNAL SECONDARY HARD DRIVES (OR RAID DRIVES) DISCONNECTED PRIOR TO REINSTALLING OR REFRESHING WINDOWS!! People often forget about TVs, SmartTVs, ROKU, or other network media storage or media streaming devices. You'd be amazed at how much stuff people plug into their computers!

The first thing I would do if you do the Win10 refresh/reset methods discussed above, is to fire up windows and check your Event Viewer for that same error you were getting previously. I would let that machine run for 48 hrs. continuous, to ensure that the Error is gone. Once that's the case, you can then begin plugging in your external usb devices, and secondary internal hard drives *if you have any*, ONE AT A TIME, UNTIL THE ERROR REAPPEARS IN EVENT VIEWER. If the error reappears after reconnecting any one of these devices, it's very likely they are the cause of the error and the culprit. You can attempt to go the device manufacturer's website and download new Win10 drivers for that device; retest. If the new drivers resolve the error, you can assume you've fixed the device driver causing the error and continue the process and continue to plug in and test the next device, retest for the error, etc. etc.
If you run into the problem of one of your devices causing the error, but they either do not have an updated driver for Win10 on their website, or if they do have one and it fails to resolve the error, you can assume that device in no longer Win10 compatible and must be removed from your PC and replaced with a similar or new device that is Compatible with Win10. If you have 10 devices plugged into your PC, and this is not unusual (I have more than that), it may take you days or weeks to find the offending device! Be Patient here!

Lastly, do not run off and begin installing previously installed programs, games, antivirus, etc. right after the Win10 refresh/reset. This will only complicate the troubleshooting of your system by injecting new software variables into the mix. *WAIT UNTIL YOU FIND THE OFFENDING DEVICE, CORRECT IT, REMOVE IT, OR REPLACE IT WITH A WIN10 COMPATIBLE DEVICE PRIOR TO REINSTALLING ANY ALL SOFTWARE PROGRAMS!!* This is really, really important here. You want as clean a Win10 environment as possible, and many people install from 100-500 programs on their hard drive; you can see how all those extra programs can interfere with hardware driver level troubleshooting.

Best of luck to you. Don't hesitate to post back with any questions you have.<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

Windows Forum Team

You can ignore those COM errors they shouldn't cause an application to crash. Please follow the steps here to capture the memory from the browser crashes and upload the files. Windows 10 - Troubleshooting program crashes

The PC I have was - I think - originally W7 then W8 and now W10. Originally with a 320gb HDD which 12+ months agoo failed and was replaced (without realising at the time) with a 160gb HDD. So not long ago I replaced the 160 gb hdd with a Crucial 240 gb sdd.

I have a product call MediaPortal - which I don't use - so will remove

You can ignore those COM errors they shouldn't cause an application to crash. Please follow the steps here to capture the memory from the browser crashes and upload the files. Windows 10 - Troubleshooting program crashes

The PC I have was - I think - originally W7 then W8 and now W10. Originally with a 320gb HDD which 12+ months agoo failed and was replaced (without realising at the time) with a 160gb HDD. So not long ago I replaced the 160 gb hdd with a Crucial 240 gb sdd.

I have a product call MediaPortal - which I don't use - so will remove

You can ignore those COM errors they shouldn't cause an application to crash. Please follow the steps here to capture the memory from the browser crashes and upload the files. Windows 10 - Troubleshooting program crashes

Fantastic Member

Hi Peter,
You're welcome; hope we can help. Thanks for giving us some more information on your system specs. That's very helpful. Also glad you've got your hard drive backed up too. You didn't mention whether you had tried the Edge browser *built into W10*, Chrome, or IE11 browsers*. Do they crash as well? If either Edge or IE11 browsers also randomly crash, neemo's suggestion may not be applicable, as those types of errors are indicative to native W10 browser issues (Edge & IE11). Furthermore, if Edge or IE11 crash, that's an indicator that something is more seriously wrong with either your Windows or the hard drive it's running on. Also, we here haven't yet tested the Crucial SSD drives on W10. That could be a problem for you. Did you remember to run the W10 COMPATIBILITY TEST when you first upraded your computer to W10? And if so, was the Crucial SSD drive installed when you did so, or the old failed 320GB (mechanical drive I assume)?? So you know, the only 3 brands of SSD that we've currently tested with W10 are Kingston, Samsung, and Intel. If you ran the COMPATIBILITY TEST with the Crucial hard drive and it passed, in other words didn't report the Crucial drive as Incompatible with W10, then it's probably, not for certain, ok.

I suggest that you troubleshoot your problems on 2 fronts; the 1st front with neemo's instructions to capture the browser memory cache here: Windows 10 - Troubleshooting program crashes and then upload the files for him to look at.
The 2nd front I would try the easiest solution first, which is attempting the SYSTEM RESTORE rollback of your entire windows as per my POST #2. You'll have to wait for neemo to analyze your uploaded files, but you can try the SYSTEM RESTORE right away. Just curious, when was that actual date that you last ran the AOEMI & EASUS backups on that Crucial Drive? Those are 2 different software programs from 2 different companies; did you run those on the same day? Was that last week, last month, or last year you ran those backups? Reason I am asking is that you should run them again if it's been more than a week since you last did so, as if the SYSTEM RESTORE fails to fix the problem and corrupts your Windows, you could lose everything you added to that computer since the date of your last backup!! I always prefer to err on the side of caution when doing this. What this means in simpler words, is that say you did the last Image backup of your Crucial drive with W10 6 months ago in Dec. 2015. If SYSTEM RESTORE runs into a problem, you could lose everything you've added to that computer in the last 6 months!
Documents, photos, videos, music, favorites, E-mails, are all at risk therefore. You may wish to re-read this paragraph and let that sink in before proceeding. This is no time for Shortcuts!I urge you to make another Image Backup using either of the 2 programs you have if your backup is older than 1 week old! Period.

Of course, if you do have a recent backup, and you run the SYSTEM RESTORE, it may fix your problem! Even if it doesn't fix the 10016 COM errors you are getting, if it fixes the browser crash problem, that's ok as neemo said. You might then wait to hear back after neemo analyzes your uploaded files and attempt his fix. If that fails, you'll then be left with the more destructive Windows in-place Upgrade repair, and the Windows reset/reinstallation procedures as outlined in my Post #2. If those 3 procedures all fail, you can assume you have some failed hardware somewhere, or an incompatible hard drive *the Crucial SSD drive*, and you will need to test your Hardware thoroughly. If you run the 2 tests I prescribe, MEMTEST & SEATOOLS, and no errors are returned by either test, you will need to pay attention to running the COMPATIBILITY TEST I mention when you perform the Windows reset/reinstallation procedures. If the COMPATIBILITY TEST reports no errors from the Crucial drive; that may not be conclusive. At that point, if the problem persists, I would purchase 1 of the 3 brands of SSD we recommend (Kingston, Samsung, Intel), and reinstall from factory Recovery Media again. If that works, then the Crucial drive has some unknown problem and you would have to replace it permanently with one of the approved SSDs mentioned. You could also purchase a brand new 320GB mechanical drive from ebay or amazon and re-run the reset/reinstall of W10. If that works, it's a cheaper option (under $50 US), and would clearly tell you that your Crucial drive is faulty or not suitable for use in W10.

This is how I would suggest you proceed.

Post back ANSWERS to my browser questions and let us know how it goes, and neemo's files too!

P.S. Browser problems are becoming more and more difficult since Win8x when they incorporated them into the Windows OS kernel.

Well-Known Member

Hi Peter,
You're welcome; hope we can help. Thanks for giving us some more information on your system specs. That's very helpful. Also glad you've got your hard drive backed up too. You didn't mention whether you had tried the Edge browser *built into W10*, Chrome, or IE11 browsers*. Do they crash as well? If either Edge or IE11 browsers also randomly crash, neemo's suggestion may not be applicable, as those types of errors are indicative to native W10 browser issues (Edge & IE11). Furthermore, if Edge or IE11 crash, that's an indicator that something is more seriously wrong with either your Windows or the hard drive it's running on. Also, we here haven't yet tested the Crucial SSD drives on W10. That could be a problem for you. Did you remember to run the W10 COMPATIBILITY TEST when you first upraded your computer to W10? And if so, was the Crucial SSD drive installed when you did so, or the old failed 320GB (mechanical drive I assume)?? So you know, the only 3 brands of SSD that we've currently tested with W10 are Kingston, Samsung, and Intel. If you ran the COMPATIBILITY TEST with the Crucial hard drive and it passed, in other words didn't report the Crucial drive as Incompatible with W10, then it's probably, not for certain, ok.

I suggest that you troubleshoot your problems on 2 fronts; the 1st front with neemo's instructions to capture the browser memory cache here: Windows 10 - Troubleshooting program crashes and then upload the files for him to look at.
The 2nd front I would try the easiest solution first, which is attempting the SYSTEM RESTORE rollback of your entire windows as per my POST #2. You'll have to wait for neemo to analyze your uploaded files, but you can try the SYSTEM RESTORE right away. Just curious, when was that actual date that you last ran the AOEMI & EASUS backups on that Crucial Drive? Those are 2 different software programs from 2 different companies; did you run those on the same day? Was that last week, last month, or last year you ran those backups? Reason I am asking is that you should run them again if it's been more than a week since you last did so, as if the SYSTEM RESTORE fails to fix the problem and corrupts your Windows, you could lose everything you added to that computer since the date of your last backup!! I always prefer to err on the side of caution when doing this. What this means in simpler words, is that say you did the last Image backup of your Crucial drive with W10 6 months ago in Dec. 2015. If SYSTEM RESTORE runs into a problem, you could lose everything you've added to that computer in the last 6 months!
Documents, photos, videos, music, favorites, E-mails, are all at risk therefore. You may wish to re-read this paragraph and let that sink in before proceeding. This is no time for Shortcuts!I urge you to make another Image Backup using either of the 2 programs you have if your backup is older than 1 week old! Period.

Of course, if you do have a recent backup, and you run the SYSTEM RESTORE, it may fix your problem! Even if it doesn't fix the 10016 COM errors you are getting, if it fixes the browser crash problem, that's ok as neemo said. You might then wait to hear back after neemo analyzes your uploaded files and attempt his fix. If that fails, you'll then be left with the more destructive Windows in-place Upgrade repair, and the Windows reset/reinstallation procedures as outlined in my Post #2. If those 3 procedures all fail, you can assume you have some failed hardware somewhere, or an incompatible hard drive *the Crucial SSD drive*, and you will need to test your Hardware thoroughly. If you run the 2 tests I prescribe, MEMTEST & SEATOOLS, and no errors are returned by either test, you will need to pay attention to running the COMPATIBILITY TEST I mention when you perform the Windows reset/reinstallation procedures. If the COMPATIBILITY TEST reports no errors from the Crucial drive; that may not be conclusive. At that point, if the problem persists, I would purchase 1 of the 3 brands of SSD we recommend (Kingston, Samsung, Intel), and reinstall from factory Recovery Media again. If that works, then the Crucial drive has some unknown problem and you would have to replace it permanently with one of the approved SSDs mentioned. You could also purchase a brand new 320GB mechanical drive from ebay or amazon and re-run the reset/reinstall of W10. If that works, it's a cheaper option (under $50 US), and would clearly tell you that your Crucial drive is faulty or not suitable for use in W10.

This is how I would suggest you proceed.

Post back ANSWERS to my browser questions and let us know how it goes, and neemo's files too!

P.S. Browser problems are becoming more and more difficult since Win8x when they incorporated them into the Windows OS kernel.

Many thanks again for such a detailed response.
I am trying to make my way through the detail.

I'll try and provide some initial answers:-
I think I have 2 problems which could be related.
1. Both FireFox & Opera have crashed several times. FireFox (my preferred choice) can just Crash/Restart/Crash etc. Opera almost does the same without the separate window being generated. I have tried Edge and Chrome but not for any extended period.
Also I had my PC crash (with a browser open but not necessarily using the Browser)
The error seemed to flash up an Error Memory Management (or similar).
I purchased the SSD 15th February and created image backup of old system at that time

Will try and understand what else I need to do - based on your suggestions (& Neemobeer)

Fantastic Member

Many thanks again for such a detailed response.
I am trying to make my way through the detail.

I'll try and provide some initial answers:-
I think I have 2 problems which could be related.
1. Both FireFox & Opera have crashed several times. FireFox (my preferred choice) can just Crash/Restart/Crash etc. Opera almost does the same without the separate window being generated. I have tried Edge and Chrome but not for any extended period.
Also I had my PC crash (with a browser open but not necessarily using the Browser)
The error seemed to flash up an Error Memory Management (or similar).
I purchased the SSD 15th February and created image backup of old system at that time

Will try and understand what else I need to do - based on your suggestions (& Neemobeer)

<<<Hi Peter; Thanks for your responses. I think you sort of answered my questions on the browsers. What I was really intending to find out from you was whether any of the other 3 other browsers (Firefox, Opera, and IE11), were also causing your computer to crash. You mention you used both Edge and Chrome; did they ever cause your computer to crash, even 1 time? If this never occurred using Firefox or Opera let me know. I'd also like to ask you if it wouldn't be too much trouble to try your IE11 for me?That adds additional needed data for our analyses. As I said earlier, if 1 of the 2 Microsoft built-in browsers are crashing, that's bad; but if 2/2 or both are crashing, that's really bad, as repairs for both are high risk and have a low success rate[Windows repairs/resets/reinstallations are usually needed to fix both.] Another suggestion I'd like to make is that since Opera is no longer supported (as of 2013), is to remove that temporarily from your computer while you continue to troubleshoot. Generally Opera is/was a solid browser, but I never used it as my primary browser as we've sometimes encountered a browser "sibling rivalry" here when users have more than 6 all running (or even installed into the Registry) simultaneously. If you are able to repair damage done to your Edge and or IE11 browsers, get your Firefox fixed, (after setting a Restore Point or another Image Backup), I'd then add back your Opera and see whether it continues to crash or not. If it does, rather than repair it, I would leave it removed, and use your other 4 browsers which should be adequate unless you have 1 or more financial sites that only work with the Opera. Eventually, you'll have to fix the problems you are having with the other browsers and THOSE sites, as more and more sites will not be working with Opera any longer due to their support issue.One of the other things you can try as I mention is to buy a new mechanical drive of sufficient capacity and load up your W10 on it and test ALL of your browsers to make sure they can work. Try not to install any other programs with the exception of critical webupdates and your AV program prior to making this test. If they all work including Firefox and Opera; you may have a hidden problem with your existing hard drive *even if it passes SEATOOLS*. If the all-browsers test fails, I would then replace your Crucial SSD with one of the 3 brands we've tested and repeat the test after repeating the W10 load. Should Firefox and Opera continue to fail on one of the 3 tested brands of SSD drives, it's possible then that you have a Motherboard problem with the Acer, or even a problem with your Wi-Fi router if you are using one. The easiest of those 2 pieces of hardware to troubleshoot will be your Wi-Fi router, as you can do a 2-minute factory reset on that to eliminate any weird settings that might be causing this problem. If your 2 browsers then work after the router reset; that was the problem, and you can probably go back to your Crucial SSD and do a clean W10 install and it would work! The cost of a mechanical drive I said was about $50 and the cost of a tested brand SSD drive is about $70, so for $120 you could narrow this down. If all of these fail, you're looking at a very expensive Motherboard failure and replacement; probably $275-$500 or more for that Acer!
That reminds me, do you have another laptop or desktop PC around your home or that you can borrow from a friend or neighbor to test your 2 browsers? Of course it would be easiest if you had a next-door neighbor with a W10 laptop who wouldn't mind loaning it to you for a day or two. You could then install Firefox and Opera and test! If they both work, that tells you your problem is still in your laptop and possibly your network router. If they both fail on the borrowed laptop, I would immediately suspect your router and perform the factory reset. If that solves the problem, the issue was with your router and not your Acer laptop or even the Crucial drive. That costs nothing to try (maybe a 6-pack or a cheesecake to your friend!). I would also suggest that you Image your friend's laptop prior to installing your 2 browsers on it, so you can uninstall them safely when you're done with your testing. You can also find out whether or not he's already got your 2 browsers installed and they are working, or whether they mind if you leave them on there. Good "netiquette" would be to ask and find out. If they wish to have their laptop back the way the loaned it to you, they should be removed. The Image Backup is your safety net, as sometimes uninstalling even 1 program on a friend's computer can crash their computer!! Especially, if they have a virus unknown to them lurking there.Probably more information than you wanted--as Holdum says:. But, hopefully, it will help to guide you through the process.<<<
Have a Great Weekend!<<<BBJ>>>